09/10/2026
🧑🏾🎓💡 🏫 Lord Simon Woolley welcomed to Bayes Business School on Wednesday 7 October for this year’s Craft Lecture, ‘Performative or Permanent? The Real Test for University EDI in an Age of Backlash’.
Drawing on his experience as a campaigner, public servant, educator and legislator, the current Principal at Homerton College (University of Cambridge) Lord Woolley challenged the audience to consider what it means to move beyond performative commitments to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) towards meaningful, lasting institutional change.
A central message resonated throughout the evening: lasting change is not defined by what we say, but by what we do. Embedding inclusion requires more than meeting compliance requirements or making symbolic gestures. It demands courageous leadership, accountability and a commitment to ensuring that equity shapes our institutional culture, governance and decision-making.
As universities and business schools navigate an increasingly challenging landscape for EDI, the lecture was a timely reminder that inclusive institutions are built through action, not words alone.
We would like to thank Lord Woolley for an insightful and thought-provoking lecture, and everyone who joined us for an important conversation.
Pictured (l-r): Sam Kamuriwo, André Spicer, Lord Simon Woolley, Barbara Casu, Dr Andreia Carvalho N’Djai, Ioannis Moutzouris.
